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Architosh has published its first indepth industry report on BIM, based on the survey of 410 qualified architects and firms

Architosh is pleased to announce the publication of the Architosh 2010 BIM Survey Report. Authored by Architosh editor-in-chief, Anthony Frausto-Robledo, AIA, LEED AP and senior associate editor, Pete Evans, AIA, the report consists of three tiered publications. Based on the qualified input of 410 architectural professionals in the US and abroad, plus follow-up detailed phone and email interviews, the 2010 BIM Survey Report both summarizes survey results and provides analysis and synthetic interpretation of “emerging themes” in the findings.

The BIM report is based on “opt-in” survey data that, by-and-large, accurately reflects the industry in regards to firm-size, a key factor in understanding the adoption of BIM software within the architectural industry. Demographically more than 50 percent of the firms in the survey are from the United States with these top five foreign countries represented: United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada and Norway.

While an opt-in survey on Architosh will always generate a disproportionate share of Mac-based professionals, the 2010 BIM Survey Report is based on a very large share of Windows-based firms. Just under 50 percent of all participants’ firms were utilizing Windows operating systems, while approximately 75 percent of all firms were utilizing the Mac. Many firms utilized both operating systems.

Many of the industry’s top architectural firms are participants in this survey report. Readers will quickly recognize and value the input and information from some of the world’s best and largest architectural leaders.

Participants will receive a free PDF version of the report while those who did not take the report can obtain one of two printed versions and one of two eBook versions. (pricing is located below in this article and here). The three tiered versions of the report are:

Key Findings & Emerging Themes

There are eight (8) key findings discussed in detail in the report summarized as follows:

Autodesk Revit and Graphisoft ArchiCAD were the two leading discussed BIM programs by participants in the survey. They both appear to capture more of the following: mind share, evaluation share, and adoption share are greater than their key rivals.

Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft ArchiCAD and Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect all appear to have upward momentum in the BIM market as compared to rivals and as firms leave behind key 2D CAD systems. Autodesk AutoCAD is the single largest exit CAD program.

Participants in this opt-in BIM survey as a whole were much more aggressive in the adoption of new innovative information technologies than the industry as a whole. The percentage of those who identified with Innovator or Early Adopter status on the Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Curve was surprisingly high.

Just over 60 percent of participants said their firms had adopted BIM in some BIM-usage capacity.

The number one reason why both firms and individuals were interested in BIM adoption is because they believe it leads to better design of buildings than just 2D CAD alone. Improving efficiency of design documentation was a clear second priority.

42 percent of participants do not believe BIM adoption within architecture will lead to greater pay or salary within the field of architecture, despite the efficiency promises and assumptions of BIM. This turned out to be a paradoxical result compared to other key results in the data.

66 percent of participants said they were extremely interested in evaluating an Apple BIM program if it met the generalized description in the survey question. Bear in mind that 50 percent of the firms in this survey were using Windows in their majority capacity.

The survey results clearly indicate a growing demand for multi-platform (Windows and Mac) support from industry software leaders, particularly Autodesk. More larger firms like NBBJ (see interview in ISV Report) are finding both increased demand and use of Apple Mac computers, particularly laptops, within their organizations (see ISV Report for an entire section devoted to the discussion of Apple in relation to BIM in the architectural industry).

Both analytic and synthetic discussion centers around several key themes from the report. They are detailed in full in the Full and ISV Report versions. They are:

BIM Adoption: Definition and Challenges — The definition of BIM is still loose enough as to seriously challenge architects to know whether they are truly doing BIM or not. Without a baseline definition of BIM the determination of BIM adoption becomes murky at best.

BIM and the Business of Architecture — The “I” in BIM could equally stand for Investment, Innovation and Income, insofar as what BIM means to the “business of architecture.” BIM is both imposing positive and negative pressure simultaneously on the bottom lines of architecture firms. A rich array of the complexity of this issue is discussed in detail and reported in the key interviews in particular.

BIM and the Social Value of Architectural Practice — Based on commentary and survey results we address how BIM can come to bear on how society views architects and the services they provide.

Apple + BIM: Generating Discussion — Putting Apple into the discussion helped generate a wide-ranging discussion about BIM software: what’s wrong with it; what’s right with it; and what it could and should be.

The table of contents of the three-tiered 2010 BIM Survey Report is listed in a separate Architosh story here. Please refer to it to gain an understanding of what is contained in each version of the report. Pricing information is also conveniently duplicated in that story.

2010 BIM Survey Reports – Three Versions

The Architosh 2010 BIM Survey Report comes in three versions as detailed below. The Participants version has shipped out today. It was free to all those who qualified to participate in the report. If you were a participant and did not receive your report please email us ([email protected]) so we can look into your situation.

The Full and ISV Report versions will ship out later this month. Refer to the details below for more information:

Special note: Participants can obtain both the Full and ISV versions of the report at cost for $35.USD and $75.USD, respectively, by contacting us directly.

Pre-Order Discount

For those who pre-order the Full and ISV versions of the report prior to March 25, 2010, they can obtain a 20 percent discount on each report. Please email us directly to order your report and take advantage of early order discounts, we will send you an invoice and arrange for payment. Email us at: [email protected]

Pre-order does not apply to Participant discounts. For all questions about the report please feel free to email its authors: